ithaca greece - Moving through a stormy day in January on the Greek island of ithaki
 
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Moving through a stormy day
Wednesday 18th January 2006
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Do you ever wake up, look outside and get the feeling that nothing is what it seemed the day before? The sudden change of light makes a surreal impression on the island of Ithaki. The crisp views of the past week, with the blue skies and sunshine, dissolve into a Monet landscape, but with dark undertones and eerie perspectives. A slow wind blows the trees out of shape as their branches brush across a grey sky.
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Heavy shades of winter grey paint the horizon, where storm fronts billow over the mainland, making sea and sky indistinguishable. Chimneys smoke and house lights turn on mid afternoon, seeing out the rainy day which shadows the Ionian.
 
   
 
   
The streets are quiet and empty. Not a soul around. A stray cat, a roving dog, the only signs of life in the northern village of Stavros. The cafe which overlooks Polis bay at the end of the town road, has a light on for the insomniacs who don't take an afternoon siesta, but mostly, northern Ithaca is left to the rain.
 
 
 
   
On a clear day, Fiscardo, opposite Polis Bay, seems within the reach of a stretched out arm, but today, not a roof top or building penetrate the dark winter sky, which hangs low over Ithakis' neighbour, Cephalonia. The Greece outside of Ithaca, seems worlds away.
 
   
 
 
   
The golden sunset over Lefki, turns the Stavros sky pink, and before too long the rain begins to fall again to accompany the approaching night.
 
   
By nightfall, the home fires burn and the chilly north winds begin to howl as they speed down the mountain sides, rattling across roof tiles and open shutters. Dark shadows dance in the night as the wind blows hard across Ithaca, and so ends a Wednesday in January as it moved through a stormy day into night.
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